Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Frederiksen, Fergie
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2013
Runtime: 58:10
Rating: 3.5/5
»Any Given Moment« – or, in plain English, “every gifted moment” – is a seriously loaded title for the new studio album from the former Toto vocalist, the one voice that’s burned itself irreversibly into every rocker’s memory, seeing as the entire Toto album »Isolation« (1984) is built on that very voice. Dennis »Fergie« Frederiksen is no stranger to the AOR scene. Starting out with the pioneering Trillion in the second half of the seventies, then on to LeRoux, then a solo album under the pseudonym David London, then Mecca, the distant »Toto twin«, the bold creative partnerships of Frederiksen/Philips, then Frederiksen/Denander, and the first proper solo album under the name Fergie Frederiksen, »Equilibrium« (1999)….
The guy just doesn’t quit. Two years ago he put out his second solo studio album, »Happiness is the Road«, and made it clear he’s nowhere near ready for the scrap heap. Top-notch vocal execution, his charisma and the specific charm of his delivery grafted perfectly into the flesh of the arrangements – the result was a gorgeous studio document. And yet things with our good old Fergie aren’t as rosy as they seem. For the third year running, the man has been fighting a battle with liver cancer.
That’s where I got the “loaded title of the new album” at the start of this review. At first it looked like his condition was getting better, but things flipped upside down and went south. Just skim the track titles on the new album and you get a hint that he’s slowly coming to terms with the fact that he may soon have to say goodbye to the world as he knew it, or knows it. Right from the opener (Last Battle Of My War), then “the one” about letting go (Let Go), then the title track, which spells out the immense value of every single moment you’re given in life, the value of life and above all of health. And of course there’s “the one” about deliverance (When The Battle Is Over) and then already the journey to the other side (Angles Don’t Cry), which…. Ohoho. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Parked at the tail end is a cover of a Toto classic, which is at once one of the most recognizable moments Frederiksen left on the facade of the amusement park called rock ‘n’ roll, and of course in the body of work of a giant like Toto.
Whereas on the previous album a different crew of musicians helped write the songs, including a master of the caliber of Jim Peterik (Pride Of Lions, ex-Survivor), this time the man kept from that crew only the Swedish “Toto obsessive” and master Robert Sall (Work of Art, W.E.T.) – there are arrangement spots where the keyboards pull piercingly toward eighties Toto (Let Go). Another new collaborator is Bruce Gaitsch, who has worked with Richard Marx. Then there’s the song Price For Loving (the opening riff vaguely recalls Superstitious by Europe), where you can feel the layered arranging, meaning several supporting lines stacked on top of each other. Hammond organ, classical piano, synthesizer and the indispensable guitar riff, all working in synergy to build an exceptionally cozy framework for Frederiksen’s vocal performance to lean on – that’s Sall’s brainchild from head to toe. You can easily picture it in different production shoes on any album by his band Work Of Art. A brilliant song in every respect, a proper love-rock drama!
So, in short: besides a different crew of writers and arrangers, Fergie also gathered a different crew of players to lay it all down in the studio. The result is a slightly different album, especially because the experienced Italian musician Alesssandro Del Vecchio took over all the main production duties (the previous album was produced by Dennis Ward of Pink Cream 69 and Unisonic). »Any Given Moment« also breathes in a positive vibe full of optimism with full lungs, and Frederiksen delivers yet another brilliant vocal performance. The album’s only problem is that it came together so soon after its predecessor, so not every song ignites at the same high level as on the last one. The gap is bigger between the songs in the top quality class and the ones that are merely average. The first three songs on the album belong in the top class, then Candless In The Dark, then the title track. In that respect, the excellent cover of the Toto classic Angles Don’t Cry is a most welcome solution planted at the tail end, lifting the record back up to a higher level after the less interesting Not Alone and When The Battle Is Over that come before it. This inconsistency between the songs is also proof that there are too many of them on the album. Fergie could have cleanly cut at least two from the list.
The whole garrison of guitarists does its job with astonishing precision, with an exceptional dose of control over the instrument in the speedy escapades while keeping the melodic vividness intact. So, on top of the excellence of Fergie’s vocal interpretation, we can fully enjoy the solo escapades of the devilishly slick guitar masters taking part in this album.
The album is a very good, high-quality successor to the excellent predecessor »Happiness is the Road«. Let’s just hope Fergie shakes loose from the claws of this stubborn illness, and that he didn’t rush this album only because he felt he had to tell us that his time is running out and his goodbye is near. May the stars be kind to him!
Line-up
Fergie Frederiksen – vocals
Alessandro Del Vecchio – keyboards, backing vocals
Nik Mazzucconi – bass guitar, “fretless” bass
Herman Furin – drums
Robert Sall – guitar
Bruce Gaitsch – guitar
Walter Caliaro – guitar
Peter Friestedt – guitar
Alessio Berlaffa – guitar
Sven Larsson – guitar
David Coyle – guitar
Roberto Tiranti – backing vocals
Issa – vocal duet on the song “Not Alone”
Production
Alessandro Del Vecchio
Track List
1. Last Battle Of My War
2. Let Go
3. Price For Loving You
4. I’ll Be The One
5. Time Will Change
6. How Many Roads
7. Candles In The Dark
8. Any Given Moment
9. Not Alone
10. When The Battle Is Over
11. Angel Don’t Cry.
